Monday, March 21, 2011

A New World, If We Build It

One of the hardest things about being an activist is having perspective. On most days, no visible progress is made; bad things, heard over and over, seem to get worse, and can wear down even the strongest soul. Since we've been working for the animals, we've known many people who get involved, are "completely dedicated," and then burn out -- often spectacularly -- because those around them haven't shared their passion and/or were unwilling to change.

It is so easy to make the pessimists' case -- I'm sure every single vegan has felt short-term frustration. And, of course, our society has had nitpickers and nay-sayers -- about abolition, women's sufferage, etc. -- throughout history.

What is harder is to have both perspective and a realistic, systematic plan for bringing about real, if long-term, change. It took me many years to come to this realization, and we've talked about it in AML. But these two essays address it more specifically: